


standing right in front of me

by amyontherun



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Unrequited Love, Valentine's Day, for like two seconds, posting this a few months late, this is just tooth-rotting self-indulgent fluff tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:26:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24265831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amyontherun/pseuds/amyontherun
Summary: Louis hates Valentine's Day, but after finding a note from a secret admirer, he finds himself being more optimistic this year.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Perrie Edwards/Zayn Malik
Comments: 3
Kudos: 62





	standing right in front of me

**Author's Note:**

> found this embrassing one shot in a folder on an old computer, thought I would post it! the fluffiness made me cringe

**Monday**

Unlike most people, Louis doesn't mind Monday mornings – in fact, he loves beginning a new week, sort of like a fresh start. Today is no exception. His mood immediately drops, however, when he realizes what week it is and what day is coming up. It’s not that he doesn't like Valentine’s Day, it’s just that it’s kind of depressing for people like him; people who have yet to meet someone who’s willing to love them even at their weirdest.

This week will undoubtedly be hell, he knows it already. There’s always a dance on Valentine’s Day, chaperoned by the teachers. Normally, people are pretty good at keeping their PDA to a minimum at school, but during Valentine’s Week, that all gets thrown out the window. All week, boys and girls alike are seen asking their crushes to the dance in what they must think are adorably romantic ways. It’s sickening, is what it is.

“Ready for the week, Haz?” Louis asks, looking at the building in front of them and feeling a sense of dread in his stomach. Maybe it’s not too late to fake a stomach ache…

Harry, however, is much more chipper than he’d usually be this week. Louis can always count on Harry to mope with him about their single status, but for some reason he seems almost excited. “Hell yeah I am.”

Louis raises an eyebrow. “You got someone in mind?”

Harry suppresses a smile and Louis can see a twinkle in his eye, the one he gets when he knows something Louis doesn't. “Not really, no.”

Louis narrows his eyes and playfully smacks him on the head. “Don’t lie to me.”

He decides to let it go, though, as they enter the building. Sure, the two of them have known each other forever, but that doesn't mean that they’re not allowed to keep secrets every once in a while. Harry would tell him about this special someone if he really wanted to.

And yeah, he did feel his stomach flip – not in the good way – when he realized that Harry has someone in mind and it most likely isn’t him, but he’s going to ignore that because what he has on Harry is a dumb crush and he never stood a chance, anyways.

*

In the school, there are decorations everywhere; it’s all a blur of red and pink and white. A colourful booth is set up right beside the gym doors for tickets to the Valentine’s Dance. Of course, he’s not planning on buying any. Louis and Harry have this tradition – ever since their freshman year, they’d go over to Harry’s house and watch poorly scripted rom-coms during the dance instead of going.

As they reach their lockers, Louis reluctantly parts with Harry, even though their lockers are only a couple feet apart. When he gets to his and puts in the combination, a piece of paper flutters out and falls to the ground. Mildly curious, he bends down to pick it up, wondering if maybe it’s those Chemistry notes he forgot about.

Turns out, it’s not the Chemistry notes after all.

_Has anyone ever told you how beautiful your eyes are? Because they are; they light up every room you walk into._

Louis frowns, feeling heat spread his face as he reads the note. Who could have sent this to him? Surely it’s just some prank; there’s no way someone likes him enough to do this. He glances around the hallway, looking to see if there’s anyone staring at him. He meets Harry’s eyes briefly and gives him a distracted smile.

When he doesn't find anyone, he rolls his eyes. It’s probably a dumb prank made by one of the seniors. Maybe they found out about how much he hates Valentine’s Day. He notices Harry walking to his locker from the corner of his eye, and quickly stuffs the note in his pocket, gathering his books and shoving the locker shut.

Briefly, Louis wonders how the person got his locker combination anyway.

**Tuesday**

“Hey mate, you alright?” Zayn asks, looking at Louis with concern

Louis rolls his eyes. “Of course I’m fine, Zaynie.”

Immediately after, he starts scanning the cafeteria again, resuming what he was doing before Zayn interrupted him, hoping that he’ll be hit with an epiphany that will allow him to finally figure out who this mysterious secret admirer is.

He knows that he’s been acting weird and his friends have every right to be concerned, but he just can’t help it. He really wants to know who’s sending him these notes. More importantly, he wants to know if it’s a joke or not.

“Seriously Lou, what’s up? You've been out of it lately.” Liam says when Louis yet again ignores them.

Louis gives the cafeteria one last scan, and then finally looks back at his friends. Niall is sitting in the corner, finishing his sandwich and looking at Louis curiously. Harry is sitting beside Louis, doing his homework with a small smile on his face. Why he’s so happy about doing his homework, Louis has no idea. Zayn and Liam are sitting in front of him, lunch already finished. Deciding that he’s kept them in the dark enough, Louis takes out a different note, one he recently found in his Chemistry textbook.

He lays it out on the table nonchalantly, feeling the familiar heat creep up his cheeks. It always seems to show up whenever he thinks about this secret admirer that he has. He’s thought about it all last night, and he still doesn't have a clue as to who it might be. The handwriting is unfamiliar, and so far this person hasn't given any clues as to who they might be. As much as Louis doesn't want to get his hopes up, he’s very curious.

_Your laugh is like the sun. It brightens up my heart and makes me feel giddy inside._

As soon as the note is on the table, Liam snatches it and starts reading it out loud so that everyone can hear. Louis sinks farther into his chair, his face on fire. He’s absolutely mortified.

“Who’s sending you these?” Zayn asks with a grin on his face. He’s got a twinkle in his eye and goddammit, why is he so happy about this?

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Honestly, whoever it is, they’re really fucking sick. Who thinks it’s funny to send notes like these?”

“Well,” Harry says slowly, looking up at Louis from his homework. “Maybe it’s not a joke.” He’s doing that thing where he stares at Louis intently, as if that will somehow convince Louis he’s right.

“Maybe it is,” Louis counters. He suddenly doesn’t feel very hungry.

Harry just eyes him sadly and Louis hates when he does this. He hates when Harry gives him that look, because it makes him feel guilty, almost like he let Harry down, which is absolutely ridiculous because he doesn’t owe him anything. Louis sighs softly, closing his eyes. He doesn’t like getting into arguments with Harry.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “It’s just. It’s hard imagining someone who likes me enough to do this, you know? Seems impossible.”

Harry rolls his eyes, fondness seeping out of his voice when he replies. “It’s not impossible. Not at all.”

And he can feel his heart clenching because goddammit Harry makes it so fucking hard. He’s been trying to get over this dumb crush for over a year and it just isn’t working because Harry likes to play with his feelings by being a considerate sweetheart who only wants the best in everyone and it’s so endearing and charming and how is Louis supposed to get over him?

**Wednesday**

Louis has known Harry for a very long time, is the thing. As long as he can remember, really. He can’t think of a time when he didn't know him. Another thing is that it’s absolutely impossible to know Harry as long as Louis has and be completely immune to his charm. A part of him wishes that he’d ask Louis out in one of the incredibly cheesy, romantic way that Louis claims to hate and makes fun of so frequently.

It’s quite pathetic really, this crush that Louis has on him. He knows that Harry would never go for someone like him. They’ve been friends their entire lives, and that’s probably all he sees Louis as. A friend.

And Louis knows that it’s hopeless, that it’s always going to be hopeless, but he just can’t help it. When he first saw that note in his locker on Monday morning he couldn’t help but hope it was Harry, which is absolutely absurd because he’s told Louis that he already has someone else in mind.

He sighs dejectedly and starts thinking about which beautiful girl Harry has his eyes on. Eleanor, maybe. She’s quite pretty. Maybe even Perrie, although that’s more Zayn’s type. This gets him even more depressed, and he decides that he’s going to stay home today. He doesn’t know why these thoughts came into his head in the morning anyways; they always make him want to cry. Besides, he doesn’t really feel like facing everyone. There is no doubt in his mind his friends will try to get him to become more excited about the sender of those love notes and he isn’t in the mood for that. He knows he should be flattered by the notes, but they just get him sadder because Harry will never see him that way. The thought makes him feel weak, and then he feels even worse. It’s a cycle; it goes on for the whole day, and even at night sometimes.

He sends a quick text to Harry saying that he doesn’t feel well, then shuffles to the washroom to brush his teeth. Just because he feels like shit doesn’t mean that he isn’t capable of having breakfast and getting his sisters ready.

After brushing he goes downstairs and makes his own breakfast. Usually his mum would make breakfast but she had a rough day yesterday, so Louis makes the quick decision of waking her up late today. She doesn’t have to get up for work, and she deserves to rest.

After eating some cereal – cooking isn’t really his strong suit – he tiptoes upstairs and goes to Lottie’s room. She’s the easiest to wake up, and she usually wakes her sisters up as well.

“Lottie, sweetheart, wake up.” He whispers, putting a hand on her cheek to gently coax her out of her sleep.

She moans something about five more minutes, and after looking at the clock to make sure she won’t be late, he says, “I want to hear you in the shower in exactly five minutes, alright cupcake?”

After making sure that she’ll be up soon, he heads to his own room to shower, knowing that Lottie takes some time getting ready and getting all the other girls ready as well. In the shower, he tries not to think about Harry or his secret admirer or his friends. He just wants to relax today, which means that he can’t think about anything that will stress him out. So he decides to turn on the radio. What better to distract him then easy-going pop songs?

After showering and getting ready, he goes downstairs to find that Lottie has already started making breakfast, and Fizzie is sitting on the table, getting her bag ready for school.

“G’morning, Lou. I couldn’t wake the twins up.” Lottie says, smiling at him when she sees him.

“Why haven’t you left yet? Aren’t you late?” Fiz asks as she looks at the clock.

“I don’t really feel like going to school today, not feeling too well. I’ll go wake the twins up. Remember to make breakfast for them as well. 

He runs up the stairs, two at a time, and gently opens Daisy and Phoebe’s door. They’re both sound asleep, and he smiles at them. He doesn’t have the heart to wake them up, but they do have to get to school. Pushing all of his lingering thoughts of Harry and school and love notes and Valentine’s Day, he starts tickling two of his favorite girls to get them to wake up.

*

Louis checks the clock again. 4:10. So he’s spent half of the day lazing around in his bedroom doing absolutely nothing. Lovely.  
After the girls left for school, he went back to his room and listened to music while lying in bed until his mum woke up. He went downstairs with her and watched TV while she had breakfast, then she left for grocery shopping or something and he’s been holed up in his room ever since.

When he gets a text from Harry telling him to open his door, Louis rolls his eyes. Typical Harry. Of course he’s going to be a sweetheart and come to his house to check up on him. Of course he’s going to make it as hard as he can for Louis to stop having this stupid idiotic crush on him.

He reluctantly comes downstairs as slowly as he possibly can, but when Harry starts knocking on the door, Louis realizes how childish he’s being. He walks to the door and looks through the peephole to make sure it’s Harry, then opens it.  
“What are you doing here, Harry?”

“Just wanted to see how you were,” he replies as he walks inside and heads to the kitchen. “I brought you notes on the stuff you missed in school, and my mum made you soup. Oh also, I found this note on your front door.”

Louis groans. Seriously? He stayed home because he didn’t want to deal with his two problems and they still managed to find him. When Harry hands the note over, Louis reads it and his face in on fire because even though he’s supposed to have no feelings for this secret admirer and he’s supposed to yell at them when he finds out who they are, they sure are doing a good job of charming him.

_I think about holding hands with you and kissing you a lot._

**Thursday**

“So are you going?” Liam asks him as they sit down next to each other. English; it’s the only class they have together, other than lunch.

“Going where?” Louis asks nonchalantly, acting as if he has no idea what Liam is talking about.

“You know where. Stop acting like you’re clueless and answer the question, Louis.”

Louis sighs. Liam is referring to the dance tomorrow. Everyone is bothering him about going because his “secret admirer” wants him to go, and will most likely reveal his identity there.  
When he went to his locker this morning, there was a single rose taped to it, along with a piece of paper underneath. As he got closer, he realized it was a ticket to the dance. He had carefully peeled the ticket off to see if there was a message behind it and, sure enough, there was.

_Come to the dance tomorrow ;)_

It was short. It was sweet. It was simple. And it had completely swept Louis off his feet. When Louis had first gotten these notes, he was suspicious that this person was only doing this as a prank, but as the days passed, so did his suspicion. Now, he saw this secret admirer as a chance to forget about Harry.

So when Louis gives Liam a smile and says, “yeah, I’m going,” Liam is a little bit surprised.

Louis has thoroughly thought it over, and he’s decided that he has spent enough time pining over someone he’s never going to get. So he might as well try looking for other people, and this secret admirer sounds like a good place to start.

“Well,” Liam says, taken aback. “I’m glad you changed your mind.”

“Yeah, I’m tired of making up excuses as to why I shouldn’t trust this secret admirer. I’m going to go to the dance tomorrow and find out for myself whether this person’s just trying to humiliate me or not.”

“Honestly, Lou, you’re going to love him. I promise.” Liam says, smiling at him fondly.

Louis raises an eyebrow, trying not to get too excited. “Do you know him, Liam?”

Liam starts blushing as he realizes what he just said, and he starts stuttering. “Well. Um. I mean – not really? It’s just. Um. I. Uh.”

Louis laughs, amused at his friend’s attempts. “It’s okay Li, I won’t force anything out of you.”

So when Louis goes home with Harry that day after school, he’s feeling pretty good about himself. For once, Harry and his dumb charm and dumb humor and dumb looks and dumb dimples haven’t bothered him. He doesn’t mind because there’s a hope blooming inside him that maybe tomorrow is the day he’ll get over him. Maybe tomorrow is the day he’ll find someone who he won’t compare to Harry.

**Friday**

Louis is a ball of nerves. He’s never been good with surprises, and, well, this is going to be a big surprise. Who could it possibly be? Maybe it’s Nick from senior year. Or Andy. Or Stan. Or maybe it’s a freshman. Or someone he doesn’t know. Oh god. Why did he agree to do this again?

It looks like such a stupid idea right now, while he’s standing in front of his mirror with his dumb suspenders on. He shouldn’t have said yes, goddammit. He doesn’t want to go anymore. But he also knows that if he doesn’t go, he’s going to regret it. _Stop acting like a wuss, Tomlinson. Get it together._

He takes a deep breath, going downstairs and hugging his mum goodbye. Harry’s going to pick him up and he’s going to ignore how good he looks in a suit and bowtie and they’re going to go there together. Harry’s got something to do for his own love interest, so he’s going to be leaving Louis to stay with Liam and Niall, since Zayn is off somewhere with Perrie. The note that Louis got during school today said:

_Hey, beautiful. Wear something pretty and look for me onstage._

So Louis will stand around the beverages table until the songs start; he knows that some people are going to be onstage performing, and his guess is that his secret admirer will be one of them.

He has no idea what to expect.

*

He’s on the dance floor, busting up some ridiculous dance moves with Niall when he hears the announcement for performers. He quickly excuses himself and goes to beverages table, getting himself a coke and finding a nice spot to lean against the wall as he watches the performers.

He’s not sure how many go by until he sees Harry. He’s completely shocked, of course. He had no idea Harry could sing. Somewhere in the crowd, Liam finds him and quickly walks over.

“I had no idea he could sing,” Louis says. If Harry was singing for this girl he was interested in, he must really like her.

“Yeah, he’s been learning.”

Louis hums, turning his attention to Harry as he starts talking. “So, um. Before I start singing, I just wanted to say something to someone I’ve had my eyes on for quite a while now.” His eyes start scanning the crowd, and when they land on Louis, he smiles wide, dimples showing. “Louis. I’m the one who’s been sending you notes and, um. I love you a whole lot, Boo. And, erm, I’d love it even more if I could call you mine by the end of the night.”

His voice, slow, deep, sensual, washes over Louis and he’s having trouble understanding what’s happening. Did Harry just say he was the secret admirer? So did that mean that Louis was the person he had his eye on? But …

He realizes that he’s been out of it for too long and Harry’s started singing.

_My body tells me no_  
_But I won’t quit_  
_Cause I want more_  
_Cause I want more_

With a jolt, Louis realized that Harry is playing Young the Giant. That smug bastard. Sure enough, when Louis looks at him, his eyes are trained on Louis and he was trying hard to keep the grin off his face. He looks absolutely breathtaking on the stage, with the spotlight on him. As if he’s made to perform. Louis is having trouble with the fact that Harry’s only just started learning how to sing, because his voice is melodic. Louis is lost in the way he sings, the way his mouth wraps around the words.  
  
When he’s finished the song, he bows cheekily and goes backstage. Louis is still frozen on the spot. He doesn’t understand. This can’t be happening. He refuses to believe it.

“Louis?” Liam asks, concern in his voice.

“I – I can’t believe it. I spent so long convincing myself it was never going to happen, and now it’s happening and I just. I don’t believe it.”

“You better believe it, Lou.”

Louis looks up at Liam carefully, and he isn’t looking at him, but behind him. He turns around, his heart beating faster at what’s about to come. Harry is standing at the edge of the dance floor and he’s smiling that smile, the one that Louis loves, and he looks so heartbreakingly beautiful that it hurts him inside. He’s got his hand out, so Louis slowly starts walking towards him, trying and failing to fight off an answering smile.

When they’re close enough, he grasps Harry’s hand and almost squeals at how good it feels. It’s not like they haven’t held hands before – it’s different this time.

There’s a slow song playing, and Harry pulls Louis in with a hand around his waist, making sure there’s no space between them. Louis wraps his hands around Harry’s neck and leans his head against his chest, happy that they get to be close together.

“You know,” Louis finally says, breaking the silence. “You didn’t have to do all that. You could have just told me.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Harry whispers, and Louis can feel the rumbling in his chest as he talks. “Besides, we both know you loved it, so why bother pretending?”

Louis blushes, because Harry has him all figured out. And that’s the best thing about their relationship. They both know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, so they both know what they’re getting into. There won’t be any surprises.

A thought occurs to Louis and he pulls his head back, looking up to meet Harry's eyes. "How did I not recognize your handwriting?" 

Harry grins down at him. "I made Perrie write them for me." 

Louis can't hide his indignition when he replies, "so, basically, everyone knew but me."

Harry's smile softens into one of fondness. "That's kind of the point of surprises, Boo. You know I can't keep any secrets from you."

Satisfied, Louis rests his head on Harry's chest as they continue swaying to the beat. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Zayn and Perrie on the dance floor. 

“You think my eyes are beautiful?” Louis teases, lifting his head to look at Harry again.

“Gorgeous,” Harry replies without missing a beat. “I could get lost in them.”

“And my laugh?” Louis asks, fighting off a grin that threatens to split his face in half.

“Like music to my ears.”

“You think about holding hands a lot?”

Harry trails his hand down Louis’ arm to his own hand and tangles their fingers together. “You have no idea.”

“You wanna kiss me?” Louis murmurs, his voice going soft.  
Harry’s lips twitch into a smile.

"Is that an invitation?”

Louis doesn’t answer, his eyes fixated on Harry’s lips and how they would feel against his own. He’s thought about this for so long, dreamed about it so many times. It seems unreal. He inches towards him, smiling at how he has to go on his tiptoes.

“Absolutely,” he whispers, then closes his eyes just as their lips are about to touch. They stay that way for a while, just breathing each other in and letting the anticipation grow. Then, finally, Harry captures Louis’ lips in his own.

He tastes sweet; like cupcakes. His lips are soft, and gentle against his own. It’s short, it’s sweet, and it’s perfect. Admittedly, Louis had always thought their first kiss would be filled with lust and hunger, a kiss that would be full of passion and lead to something more. But this is okay too; they have plenty of time for other kisses.

They have forever.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: thosepearls


End file.
